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Budget Build Help -- $500 possible??

E

earnstaf

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 24, 2008
Messages
163
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Mostly just being used for school work, so onboard video is fine. Will buy a GPU in the future in order to game with the machine.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$550

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Florida, USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

Complete system, minus GPU although future upgrades should be an option.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

None.

6) Will you be overclocking?

No.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

2x19"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

As soon as possible

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? etc.

??

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

No, need Windows 7.

I know this is a challenging build for that amount of money, so I appreciate any help that you can provide.
 
Okay, I'm assuming you have old monitors you can us e.

If you need everything plus windows, I strongly suggest you consider a prebuilt machine. Go on newegg, look up some of the prebuilt gaming rigs, such as iBuypower or Cyberpower, they usually have complete rigs for around that price.

If you want to build your own, windows 7 is already $100, so you're looking at a $400 build, which honestly would be something like:

core i5-2400k with mobo combo, or i3
$ 60-90 500-600 watt psu (probably Antec Earthwatts)
$ 35 8 gigs of ram
$50-60 case
$20 DvD drive.
$100+ HDD

Do you have any re-usable HDDs? If not, this will definitely go over your budget.
 
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Do you have an older version of Windows, plus a student email address? If so, you can upgrade to 7 for $35 with microsofts deal.
 
MoBo + CPU Combo
$170

4GB RAM
$23

500GB HDD
$85

DVD-R LS ODD
$20

uATX Case
$40

120mm PWM Fans (x2)
$20

750W Modular PSU
$100

Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
$100

Shipping: $20

TOTAL: $585

REBATE: $20

GRAND TOTAL: $565

...$15 over budget, but I think that's damn good considering it's a very capable entry level Z68 based system with plenty of room to grow. ;)
 
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^ shoot, I forgot Windows. That'll be $100, so I'll make some tweaks and add it here in a bit.
 
Sometimes at that price level, you may get more computer for less getting a dell or something like that, they get big discounts on components and with windows and everything.
 
Tsuyoi said:
Deja's build isn't bad, but for those specs you can probably drop the PSU way down, and save quite a bit of money.

Antec Earthwatts 380 - $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

This'll run you just fine until when you do decide to get a discrete graphics card, and since its only $45 you won't feel bad swapping it out.
Click to expand...

Good call on going with a much cheaper PSU that's just perfectly fine (and then some) for a basic 1155 build.

I suppose my psu recommendation IS severe overkill, considering... :p
 
Pentium G620/H61/4GB SuperCombo LE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.752616 180.99

Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 99.99

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769 99.99

LITE-ON DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 17.99

LITE-ON SK-1688U/B Black USB Wired Standard Keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823107128 7.99

Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse - Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105167 12.99

Total including shipping 435.68

.....................................................................................
upgrade power supply when you add video card to
The weak link in the combo is the power supply. You may want to pull it from the start.

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034 59.99
 
Jsalpha2 said:
The weak link in the combo is the power supply.
Click to expand...

No, the weak link in the combo is that motherboard. $436 for a DIY H61 might as well buy a doorstop Dell or HP system vs $510 for the Z68 with tons more upgrade potential. I'd recommend the OP spend the extra money...
 
What Deja said. Plus, unless I'm mistaken, the H61 doesn't support onboard graphics does it?
 
The H61 chipset supports onboard video, but not overclocking.(Intel HD Graphics 2000 in the CPU)
a graphics card can be added.
The P67 chipset can overclock, but no onboard video.
The Z68 chipset is best, can do both.
Quote "6) Will you be overclocking? No."
Wasn't trying to start a fight.
 
Jsalpha2 said:
The H61 chipset supports onboard video, but not overclocking.(Intel HD Graphics 2000 in the CPU)
a graphics card can be added.
The P67 chipset can overclock, but no onboard video.
The Z68 chipset is best, can do both.
Quote "6) Will you be overclocking? No."
Wasn't trying to start a fight.
Click to expand...

Also, you forgot these:

1) H61 only supports two ranks per channel of RAM (or more specifically, the chipset can only address two ranks per channel). This limits the maximum RAM capacity to 16GB total - and then, you'd need two expensive 8GB DIMMs to get that amount. (There are currently no 4GB single-ranked DIMMs for desktops at this time; all 4GB desktop DIMMs currently available are double-ranked.)

2) H61 natively supports only four SATA devices. All of the other LGA 1155 chipsets that don't have a "61" in them support six SATA devices. Plus, H61 does not support RAID, nor does it officially support AHCI (although Intel's reference H61 boards do have an AHCI mode). All of the higher-end LGA 1155 chipsets support both AHCI and RAID.

3) H61 does not support linked dual graphics cards at all (Crossfire or SLI). H67 only supports Crossfire in an imbalanced x16/x4 mode. An overclocking-capable chipset is required for SLI support or x8/x8 operation.
 
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